SACAM: The Software Architecture Comparison Analysis Method

Comparing software architectures for any nontrivial system is a difficult task. Software architectures are designed with particular requirements and constraints, and are often poorly documented. However, organizations often need to select a software architecture for future development from several candidate architectures. The Software Architecture Comparison Analysis Method (SACAM) was created to provide the rationale for an architecture selection process by comparing the fitness of architecture candidates for required systems. The SACAM compares architectures based on a set of criteria derived from the business goals of an organization. SACAM was developed in a technical reuse context where an organization investigated architectural commonalities and differences to explore architectural designs for a software product line architecture. This report outlines a first version of the method and its underlying concepts.